Publisher's Summary

Blackstone, the Magic Detective is the beloved magic/detective series aired as 15-minute episodes on Sunday afternoons at 2:45 p.m. on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 3, 1948, until March 26, 1950.

Starring Ed Jerome as "the world's greatest living magician", the radio series was based on real-life magician Harry Blackstone, Sr. The series was announced by Don Hancock from October 1948 through June 1949, and Alan Kent from July 1949 to the end of the series in March, 1950. The background organ music was supplied by Bill Meeder. Scripts were mostly by Walter B. Gibson, the ghostwriter of Blackstone's books, and Nancy Webb, who worked with Gibson on Chick Carter, Boy Detective.

The show usually opened with Blackstone (Ed Jerome) and his assistant Rhoda Brent (Fran Carlon) talking with a friend of theirs, either Don Hancock or Alan Kent (played by the episodes' announcers in-character as themselves) or John (Ted Osborne). A past adventure of Blackstone's would come up in conversation, and that mystery story was then dramatized as a flashback. After the mystery's climax, the narrative returned to the three main characters as Blackstone performed a magic trick. After a commercial break handled by the announcer, Blackstone returned to demonstrate and explain the trick so that listeners could perform it for the amusement of their friends. This is a must-have for magic and detective fans everywhere!